This is the time of year when we see all of the year's hard work culminate in so many exciting ways. This week was filled with creative endeavors. In Social Studies, students are working in small groups on mini-research projects. Students are focused on the early years of statehood in Ohio during the early to mid 1800s. More specifically, we are looking at how Ohio's transportation system grew, changes in education and religion, and economic growth. Students are using a variety of non-fiction conventions to include in brochures to share their learning and will be breaking out into small groups to share their expertise with other classmates next week. Students wrapped up literature circles this week. It has been wonderful to see them enjoy reading the books, the annotation process, group discussions, and blog posts. Throughout the reading, students were asked to respond in a variety of ways to questions about character, setting, cause and effect relationships, theme, and text to text connections. Students focused on justifying their responses and opinions with specific examples from the text. I have been very pleased with the great thinking I have seen and heard from students in 4W! Students completed a final piece of writing in which each child wrote a poem from the perspective of a chosen character. On Wednesday, Andy Brandell from Graeter's shared an engaging presentation about the Graeter's Ice Cream business. Students learned about the history of the business and what makes Graeter's Ice Cream an exceptional product. Additionally students learned about the properties of dry ice. Ask your child to share what he/she learned! Of course, we ended the presentation with ice cream...delightful! Thank you Harman PTO for sponsoring this fun and educational event. It was wonderful to see so many families come out for this year's Grand Affair. Mrs. Kuntz and the students of Harman have done it again! The halls are adorned with beautiful and impressive artwork. If you were not able to attend, make sure you stop by after school sometime before Hot Dog Lunch to enjoy the displays. Have your child explain the learning behind his/her pieces too. Each piece is a product of the applied skills Mrs. Kuntz is teaching students. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in 4W! Students had no trouble at all thinking of all the reasons they appreciate their mothers. Here are just a few reasons these kiddies love you! Mom is...And the week ended with a surprise visit from the Charles brothers! Excitement abounded and of course, there was a photo op!
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There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. As we enter the fourth quarter, Team 4W is focused on finishing the year strong and capitalizing on all we have learned throughout the year. Students are confidently working and achieving! It is wonderful to reflect on earlier times this year and see how much each student has grown in his or her own way! Last Week in Review: |
Mystery Literature CirclesWe kicked off our first round of Literature Circles for the year! Students in 4W are reading a variety of mystery books. Each group will be meeting four times to discuss their book and complete activities led by each group member. Group discussions include sequencing of story events, answering student developed questions (literal, inferential, and interpretive), sharing noteworthy passages, advising characters, and character analysis. Please ask your child to share about this with you! |
The Place Project...our second visit!
Engineering/Design Challenge!This week, students worked in teams to assemble a model of a gingerbread house. Following the assembly, we discussed student observations about measurements, congruent shapes, angles, and construction. Then it was time for the redesign! Each team was given the following challenge and parameters: Redesign your gingerbread house and build a model! Parameters: Base of house must be equal to 50 square cm. Height may be no taller than 11 cm. Construction must consist of 6 pieces. Opposite sides must be congruent. Roof pieces must be congruent. You may use cm grid paper, pencils, tape, pencils, scissors. Students worked collaboratively to problem solve and reach a design that works. Ask your child to share about this process with you! THE BEST PART: Thank you Tricia Bauer for this idea and for generously volunteering to bake these student designs! The class is super excited to see their constructions come to life and to decorate them with candy! We will decorate our houses on Wednesday 12/12 in the afternoon. |
BLOGGING, BLOGGING, BLOGGING...
"If I look up, there is sunlight flooding through the trees."
"I wonder what animals are all here."
"Wait! I think I just heard a woodpecker."
"There's lots of sunlight, pretty leaves, and a tree stump near me."
"It smells like nature!"
"Tons of leaves are falling out of nowhere and there is no wind."
"There are rocks bordering the creek and some rocks have nets around them."
"I feel so good at this spot! I see tons of trees!"
"I am sitting by a stream. Luckily it has lots of stones so I can step on them instead of my socks getting wet."
"I can tell a lot of people have been here before because there are lots of footprints."
"There are also little puddles inside the creek."
"It's peaceful and sort of quiet."
"All the trees are pretty shades of red, yellow, orange, brown, and some are still green."
"It's muddy, but who cares? My place is perfect, but it is hard to enter."
"There were just some weird rumbling noises."
"I know it's not deep, but I feel like I'm locked in a ravine."
"I see lots of water spiders."
"I see a stick attached to a spider web."
"Shoot! I got my muddy boot on my backpack!"
"I dropped my book in the water so I have to start writing here because I cannot write on wet paper."
"I am in my special space on a log which is kind of scary."
"It is so peaceful, awesome, but sort of gross."
"The water flowing beside me is so soothing."
I introduced several new tools this week that will help us connect our language arts skills to the rest of our curriculum. I am in the modeling phase of incorporating these tools so that students will be able to use them independently and successfully. The details of Daybooks and Reader's Response can be explored by clicking the links below:
DAYBOOKS!
READER'S RESPONSE!
Kidblog has already been a big hit with students and they are catching on quickly to the world of blogging and social media. I will gradually be allowing different parts of Kidblog to be utilized. Last week began with a focus on digital citizenship. Your child brought home a small poster reminder. Additionally, students practiced commenting on blog posts of mine. We discussed how to interact with each other appropriately and for what purposes Kidblog will, and will not, be used. Students were also encouraged to upload a personal avatar and adjust the screen to a theme of their choosing. I encourage you to pop in to our little blogosphere and read our posts and comments. You may use your child's password for doing this! As students get busier composing and publishing blog posts, you are always welcome to comment on your own child's writing. I have learned that this forum provides a great deal of motivation for young writers as there is an authentic audience! Please know that any critical feedback I give your child in regards to writing conventions or topics will be given as a private comment so that only the author may see it.
Hopefully your child has told you about Energy Island. We have spent a great deal of time working with this book and using it for building background for our upcoming inquiry, as well as exploring how to connect our claims and inferences to a text.
Please check the Science Page if you are interested in seeing a short video about the island of Samso.
Hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful long Labor Day weekend! Happy September!
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Anne Kenney
Kimberly Walther
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